The Democratic Party platform of 2008 finally dropped its old abortion language (“safe, legal and rare”), which had asked that women not have abortions unless they absolutely must. The 2008 platform, just announced, says instead, “The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman’s right to choose a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay, and we oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right.” Should a woman desire to bear her child, the Dems advocate prenatal care, income support, and adoption programs to help her there, too. But in the world of the new Democratic platform, it’s the woman’s decision to make.

If you have the time to read the entire article, you will come to understand a few things about the author (Linda Hirshman) and what sort of person she is. Then ask yourself what it means that a person such as Linda Hirshman is positively thrilled about the new Democratic party platform, a platform which unequivocally supports publicly-funded abortions in all circumstances. I’ll give you a hint: it doesn’t mean that the Democrats are moving to the center on abortion under Obama.

As Hirshman herself notes, the platform places the official stance of the Democratic party far, far outside the American mainstream on this issue (which she views as a good thing). Her stated opinion is that the Democratic party platform represents the leading left edge of the abortion position, which will eventually convince people that it is righteous and moral to have an abortion for any reason whatsoever. Notice how Hirshman explicitly argues – in express agreement with the new Democratic party platform – that it is more moral for a woman to have a successful career than it is for her to not kill her child (even to pass it immediately to someone else through adoption):

Women, whose economic prospects plummet with the birth of a child, now face 65 percent majorities who would support criminalizing their decision to abort because they are too poor for parenthood. Guttmacher Institute abortion numbers reveal that these same poor women are disproportionately black and Hispanic. It is fair to conclude that a lot of abortions, regardless of race, are about women seeking the flourishing life prospects that our current morality-free discourse completely conceals.

Folks, this is where the Democratic party under Barack Obama will lead us. Doug Kmiec has completely abandoned his reasoning faculties on this question – others (like Ms. Hirshman) are less deceived:

The Democratic platform of 2008 offers an opportunity to put an end to this self-destructive cycle of Safe, Legal, and Rare, otherwise known as regret, depression, and self-denigration. In its place, it can finally argue for the value of women’s lives.